Chapter 8: Gecko Moria
As the ship approached the coast, a strange, echoing laugh drifted from the docks.
"Heh heh heh~ Doflamingo! Who would've thought the infamous Heavenly Yaksha would stoop to following Navy orders? Heh heh heh~"
A grotesque figure stood on the shore.
His neck was long and thick, belly round like a drum, and his head… shaped like a giant garlic bulb. There was no mistaking him.
Gecko Moria.
Doflamingo leaned against the ship's railing, lips curling into a disdainful grin.
"Fufufu~ So it's you, Moria. Word is you got your ass kicked by a bunch of rookie pirates. You, a Warlord? What a joke. How dare you show your face here?"
Moria's eyes narrowed.
His fury flared visibly, and for a brief second, his Kage Kage no Mi powers stirred to life. The shadow behind him flickered with intent.
But he didn't move.
He couldn't.
Doflamingo was dangerous. Stronger. Ruthless. Thriving in the New World while Moria sulked in Paradise licking his wounds. He had to admit it, if only to himself.
Tch... damn that Straw Hat...
His thoughts burned as he recalled the loss of countless zombies and shadows during his humiliating defeat at Thriller Bark.
This war was his chance to rebuild—fresh corpses, stronger shadows. Pirates, Marines, it didn't matter. He'd rebuild his zombie army with elite warriors.
But not now. Not against Doflamingo.
Still, his pride wouldn't let him just take the insult.
His gaze shifted behind the Warlord—to the man reclining comfortably on a deck chair, arms crossed, not a Marine by the looks of it.
"Doflamingo, that guy's with you, huh? A family member maybe? Heh heh heh~"
Then it happened.
Without warning, the long shadow stretching across the ship's deck twitched—then darted toward Bravoc's hand like a striking serpent.
Bravoc didn't move at first. Then, with a lazy turn of his foot, he sidestepped the attack completely.
"Hoh?"His brow arched ever so slightly.
Moria flinched.
He hadn't expected such sharp reflexes. So the guy wasn't just dead weight after all.
He readied another strike—
"That's enough, Gecko Moria! Stand down!"
A stern voice echoed across the harbor.
An elderly woman in Marine uniform rushed forward—Vice Admiral Tsuru.
More voices followed.
"Moria, how dare you act out here!"
Doflamingo's face contorted in disgust. His hands lifted—strings flaring out like a spider's web, poised to cut Moria to ribbons.
But before they struck—
SWOOSH!
Bravoc vanished from sight.
In the blink of an eye, he was directly above Moria, hand outstretched, five fingers spread wide.
His voice dropped, cold and even.
"So you're the one who just tried to attack me, huh?"
Moria craned his head upward, his body tense."Heh heh heh. And what if I did?"He tried to sound amused, but his grin wavered.
Bravoc didn't answer.
His palm glowed.
Then—
BOOM!!!
A thunderous explosion erupted from his hand.
A shockwave tore through the coast, disintegrating everything in a five-meter radius. Steel. Concrete. Earth. All vaporized.
When the smoke cleared, Moria was gone.
Bravoc descended slowly, landing with a soft thud.
He blew casually on his palm, as if dusting off embers.
"Phew."